How many of you knew that I was a bird watcher when I was young and that I started photography at the age of sixteen because I wanted to take pictures of the birds I was watching? funny how things happen. Almost thirty years later I am living in India, I’m still a photographer and I still love birds. We keep a guide of Indian birds at home, and my daughter and I look for interesting birds using my old binoculars that are here with me as well.
We live in a very quiet part of New Delhi and our home is pretty much inside the trees. As soon as we moved into this house we noticed that a pair of Spotted Owlets uses the tree in front of our balcony as their home base. I was slightly disappointed when I realized these were not really rare birds, but I still like owls and we’ve quickly become friends.
Our owlets were never positioned well enough for a picture until this afternoon when I suddenly noticed them preening and ran to get my camera.
So here are our own personal Spotted Owlets using a 200mm lens form our balcony.
A pair of Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) in the tree in front of our window in Delhi
And some information about the Spotted Owlet from Wikipedia:
The Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) is a small owl which breeds in tropical Asia from India to Southeast Asia. They are very common species and have adapted to living in cities. They roost in small groups in the hollows of trees or in cavities in rocks or buildings. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae. The Spotted Owlet is a common resident bird in open habitats including farmland and human habitation. It nests in a hole in a tree or building, laying 3-5 eggs. Nests near human habitations were found to show higher breeding success with the young being fed a greater number of rodents.
